Ignition system



Nov. 3, 1953 M. G. BALES 2,658,155

' IGNITION SYSTEM Filed Aug. 8, 1952 INVEN TOR. MAX G. Bass BY WMMQM M's ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 3, 1953 IGNITION SYSTEM Max Bales, Anderson, Ind., assiigiiorto General Motors oo rporation, Detroit, Mich}, a corpora tion of Delaware Application August 8, 1952, Serial No. 303,247

I 4 Claims.

Thisv invention relates to=an ignition system for internal combustion engines and more particularly for automotive user It is anobject of the present-invention to pro-- vide an ignition system switch as will provide satisfactory ignition for an engine opera-ting under relative highccompressiona In the disclosed embodiment of the presentinvention this object is accomplished by the useofa battery and a generator, said generator having main and auxiliary brushes for supplying current for the: ignition circuit and by having. a variable resistance in circuit with the auxiliary brush and through which current is supplied to the coil-andtimer, said resistance under some operating conditions causing the generator to supply current to the ignition. circuit ata voltage substantially greater than the battery voltage. Thecurrentproduced by the higher voltage isprevented from passing to the battery by a unidirectional electric valve interposed between the battery and the resist-- ance.

Further objects and advantages ofthepresent invention will be apparent from the following description reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is cl earlyshown In the drawing:

The drawing is a wiring diagramdllustrating. a form of the. present invention.

Referring to the drawing the ignition circuits of the present invention are illustrated in the drawing. One of the ignition circuits includes a battery It, oneterminalof which is grounded to the vehicle frame H. The other terminal of the battery is electrically connected to one stationary contact of an ignition switch I2 by a lead wire it. The other stationary contact of switch l2, adapted to be bridged by a movable contact It, is connected to one end of a primary winding l6 of an ignition coil by a rectifier or a unidirectional electric valve I8 and a lead 19. The other end of the primary winding is connected by a lead to one of the contacts of a timer 2|. The other contact of the timer is connected to ground by a lead 22. The contacts of the timer are bridged in the usual manner by a condenser 23. One end of the secondary winding 24 of the ignition coil [5 is connected with the primary winding I6 at the point 25 while the other end of the secondary winding 24 is connected to a conductor 26 of a rotor 21 of a conventional distributor 29 by a lead 28. The distributor is provided with a plurality of terminal posts 30 each of which is connected to a spark plug 3| mounted in the engine. As illustrated, each spark plug 3'! has one side grounded while the other side of each spark plug is connected to the proper distributor terminal post 39 by a lead 32.

I he ignition circuit illustrated in the drawing is also furnished with current by a generator 35 which is provided with main brushes 3B and 3-1 and an auxiliary or third brush 3%. The generator is provided with a field 39'. The main brush 36' is connected with one terminal of the battery by a regulator 48 and the other main brush 3! is connected with ground by a lead 4 i. The held 39' has one end connected with the brush 3! by a lead d2 while the other end of the field is connected to a terminal t3 of the regulator 49 by a lead Mi. I

The regulator 46 consists of two units, not shown, but well known in the art. The regulator 48 in this instance includes a cut-out relay and a voltage and current regulator. The cut-out relay closes the generator-tmbattery when voltage issufficient to charge the battery andflit opens the circuit when'thegenerator voltage'falls' below a certain value. The voltage'regulatoris a volt-- age limiting device that prevents the voltage from eX'ceeding'a' specified'maximum' and reduces generator output to the valuerequired' for any par ticularc'ondition of battery charge" and thecur rentregulator. 7

As shown in the drawing the generator includes the auXiliary'brush' 38' which'is connected in parallel with the primary winding" at point 45 by a lead 46L In series with the auxiliary brush is a variabler'esist'ancefd'l"which'is c'ii'rren't com ensated; In terms of" function; this means that the higher the voltage the higher the current and greater the current the greater the resistance. Since the resistance increases greatly with current the resistance unit is adjusted to prevent an excess flow of current through the primary circuit which is slightly below the peak current permissible for the breaker contacts 2|.

The operation of the present invention is as follows: When ignition switch I2 is closed and the generator is at rest or operating at low speed, the primary current is furnished from the battery It and fiows through lead it, ignition switch 12, lead 17, rectifier it, lead I9, primary winding l6, lead 28 contact points 24 and back to the battery it] through ground. The cutout relay, associated with the regulator designated by reference numeral 45 automatically connects the generator 35 with the battery it when the voltage drops below a certain value and disconnects the battery when the voltage exceeds a certain value. In the present instance, the generator is a 6-volt generator with the third or auxiliary brush 38 that is positioned in such a manner to furnish voltage between the ground and the third brush which varies with generator speed. It has been found that voltage will build up from 0 to 20 volts at 3000 R. P. M., depending on the size of the generator, the output, and the position of the third brush. The third brush can be adjusted accordingly to the voltage requirements.

As soon as the generator voltage builds up sufficiently so that the voltage is greater than that furnished by the battery, the current for the ignition system will be furnished from the generator. When this occurs the rectifier l8 will prevent passage of current from the third brush to the battery and thus prevent injury to the battery.

The particular advantages of the present ignition system is that at high speeds the secondary voltage will not drop off as is common with the 6-volt system, due to the fact that the primary voltage will be obtained from the generator third brush. It is also pointed out that should the fan belt break or the generator fail, the 6-volt battery will be adequate to furnish ignition so that the operator can drive his car to a service station and have the generator repaired. Another advantage of the present invention is that it overcomes the disadvantages of a l2-volt ignition system in that all of the component parts, such as the battery, a meter, the regulator, generator, starting motor, solenoid switch and so forth, would not have to be changed or replaced to compensate for the higher voltage.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An ignition system for internal combustion engines having an ignition coil, an ignition timer, a. battery and a generator; a circuit connecting said battery and generator with said coil and timer including a manually operated switch for controlling said circuit, said generator having main and auxiliary brushes for supplying current to said circuit; a variable resistance in circuit with the auxiliary brush and through which current is supplied to said coil and timer, said resistance under some operating conditions causing the generator to supply current to the ignition circuit at a voltage substantially greater than the battery voltage; and means interposed between the battery and said resistance to prevent 4 said higher voltage from leading back to the battery.

2. An ignition system for internal combustion engines including an ignition coil; an ignition circuit including a timer and a battery; switch means for connecting the battery with the ignition circuit; a generator for charging the battery and supplying current to the ignition circuit, said generator having main and auxiliary brushes; a variable resistance connected with the auxiliary brush and the ignition circuit which under some operating conditions causes the generator to supply current to the ignition circuit at a voltage substantially higher than that obtainable from the battery; and means connected in the ignition circuit permitting passage of current in the ignition circuit in a single direction.

3. An ignition system for internal combustion engines including an ignition coil; an ignition circuit including a timer and a battery; a manually operated switch for directly connecting the battery with the ignition circuit; a generator for charging the battery and supplying current to the ignition circuit, said generator having main and auxiliary brushes; a variable resistance connected between the auxiliary brush and said ignition coil which under some operating conditions causes the generator to supply current to the ignition circuit at a voltage substantially greater than the battery voltage; and means interposed between the battery and ignition coil to prevent the higher voltage from leading back to the battery.

4. An ignition system for internal combustion engines having an ignition coil, an ignition circuit including a timer and a battery; a manually operated switch for connecting the battery with the ignition circuit; a generator for charging the battery and also supplying current to the ignition circuit, said generator having an auxiliary brush and main brushes; means connected between the auxiliary brush and the coil capable of impressing upon the ignition circuit a higher voltage under certain operating conditions of the generator than is obtainable from the battery; an a unidirectional electric valve connected in the ignition circuit, said valve allowing current to pass from the battery to the ignition circuit during closure of the switch but preventing current from passing to the battery in'the reverse direction.

MAX G. BALES.

No references cited. 

